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George Gordon Meade 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BY 



Colonel James C. Biddle 

formerly Aide-de-Catiip to Maj.-Gen. Meade 
AT GEN. MEADE'S STATUE, FAIRMOUNT PARK, PHILADELPHIA 

ON 

Memorial Day, May 30, 1888 

UNDER THE AUSPICES OF 

GEO. G. MEADE POST No. i, G.A.R. 

Department of Pennsylvania 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2010 with fj^nding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/georgegordonmeadOObidd 



GEORGE GORDON MEADE 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BY 



Colonel James C. Bidclle 

fo7->nerty Aide-de-Camp to Maj.-Gen. Meade 



AT GEN. MEADE'S STATUE, FAIRMOUNT PARK, PHILADELPHIA 



Memorial Day, May 30, 1888 



UNDER THE AUSPICES OF 



GEO. G. MEADE POST No. i, G. A. R. 

Department of Pennsylvania 



PHILADELPHIA 



I 



?1808 . 






GEORGE GORDON MEADE. 



COMRADES : We have met to-day for the purpose of com- 
memorating those who offered their lives to their Government 
in the hour of its greatest trial. When a formidable rebellion 
threatened its existence, had it not been for the patriotism of those 
whom we thus honor " the government of .the peqple, by the people, 
for the people," would have perished froih^tl^ earth. The real 
issues involved in the struggle should, never be lost sight of, and no 
sectional animosity should be incited byWhe ^Observances of this day 
and by the reiteration of the essential difference in principle be- 
tween the conflicting parties. The soldiers of the Union army are, 
and always have been, willing and glad to bear witness to the cour- 
age and bravery displayed on many a well-fouglit field by their op- 
ponents in the war. But they none the less strongly maintain 
that these brave but misguided men fought for a bad cause, the 
overthrow of the Government, the destruction of the Union, and 
the perjDetuation of human slavery, and their success would have 
been as unfortunate for the section that rebelled as for that which 
remained loyal. The soldiers of the Union (and let it never be for- 
gotten) fought for the welfare of their brethren in the South as well 
as for their own interests, and the result of the war is now conceded 
to have been a blessing by those who were defeated. It has been 
well said: " We cherish no animosities, but there never has been in 
the Republic so noble and so high an incentive to good citizenship 
and noble living as the example of those men who counted their 
lives naught that the Union might be preserved." Therefore, all 
honor is due for all time and from all sections to their memory. At 
the battle of Spotsylvania Court House General James C. Rice, of 
New York, was mortally wounded, and as he was being carried 



4 ' 

from the field of battle on a litter General Meade recognized him, 
and alighted from his horse to greet the dying soldier. General 
Rice earnestly and solemnly charged General Meade to continue 
the struggle until the Government should be restored ; said that he 
gladly gave his life a sacrifice to the great cause, and that he would 
give three lives if he could without a murmur. This touching inci- 
dent illustrates the feeling that animated our soldiers, and who shall 
say that the devotion of this patriot to the cause for which he suf- 
fered was accompanied with vindictiveness or hatred against those 
opposed to him in battle ? And I believe that a strong feeling of 
kindness to their former antagonists prevails to-day among the sur- 
vivors of the war, coupled with a firm determination never to ob- 
scure the difference between loyalty and rebellion, between right and 
wrong. 

Before alluding briefly to the character and services of the great 
soldier, General George Gordon Meade, I desire to pay a special 
tribute to the private soldiers of the army whose names are unknown 
to fame. This tribute is especially appropriate at this place, for 
from my long association with General Meade I can speak of the 
strong appreciation he felt and expressed for the privates of his army. 
And I find distinct allusion to their services in the few occasions of 
his speaking in public. I know of no other of our generals who 
bore such strong testimony on this point. I will quote a few sen- 
tences from his speeches. In a speech acknowledging the gift of a 
sword from the officers of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, on 
August 28, 1863, he said: "It is not of my own personal services 
that I would speak, but of the services of the soldiers, of the pri- 
vates, of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps." In his order relin- 
quishing the command of the Reserves to assume that of the Fifth 
Army Corps, issued months before the quotation I have just made, 
he had said: "To the services of the Reserves I acknowledge my 
indebtedness for whatever of reputation I may have acquired." 
Again, in a speech made in Independence Hall, February 9, 1864, 
he said: "To my officers, brigade commanders, regimental com- 
manders, and company commanders, hit more particularly to the 
heroic bravery of the private soldiers, the success of the army is due. 
If I had not had the support of my soldiers, not all the military 



skill in the world could succeed. I desire that the credit should be 
given to my army." 

While never attempting any public vindication of his own repu- 
tation, he was sensitive to any reflection upon the career and 
achievements of the Army of the Potomac, of which he said (Feb- 
ruary 9, 1864): "It is sometimes called unfortunate, but when its 
record becomes fully known it will appear to have been one of the 
most gallant and determined that the world ever knew," and he 
added the statement that since March, 1861, not less than 100,000 
men had been killed and wounded in that army. And I have heard 
him say after the war that he would challenge the truthfulness of 
any history that did not do full justice to the unparalleled devotion, 
heroism and endurance of that army during the campaign of 1864.* 
Therefore, it is eminently proper that in speaking on Commemora- 
tion Day at the statue erected in honor of General Meade I should 
pause to speak of the merits of the private soldiers of our great 
army. 

It would be impossible in the limited time at my command to at- 
tempt to do justice to the character and services of General Meade. 
A brief outline of his record is as follows : He was appointed Brig- 
adier-General United States Volunteers August 31, 1861, and on 
the 13th of the following month he assumed command of the Sec- 
ond Brigade Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, then stationed near 
Georgetown, D. C. In the spring of 1S62 the Reserves were as- 
signed to the command of General McDowell, and after the battle 
of Hanover Court House they were ordered to the Peninsula, where 
they were assigned by General McClellan to the Fifth Army Corps. 
From this time General Meade's career was identified with that of 
the Army of the Potomac and to w^ite his history would be to write 
the history of that army. In all its battles General Meade was dis- 
tinguished, rising rapidly from the command of a brigade to that of 
a division, then to that of the Fifth Army Corps, until on June 28, 
1863, he was ordered to the command of the army, a position 



*I have made a rough calculation of the losses in that army from May, 1864, 
to April, 1865, which I find to be about 100,000 men. I believe the record of 
this army to be without a parallel in history. 



which he held until the muster out of the army after General Lee's 
surrender, which took place April 9, 1865. 

Before he assumed command of the army, General Meade distin- 
guished himself at Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, New Market Cross 
Roads — where he was severely wounded — in the campaign and re- 
treat under Pope, at South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg- — 
where his division under his leadership won the proud distinction of 
being the only command in the army to carry the enemy's intrench- 
ments, and where, had they been supported by other troops, the 
disaster of that day would have been averted — at Chancellorsville, 
where his corps covered the retreat — rising at each emergency to a 
higher reputation in the army. From the lowest to the highest of 
these positions we find him always ready for every duty ; his faith- 
fulness being as marked as the brilliancy of his achievements. As a 
proof of the former quality, I point to the unqualified confidence 
felt in General Meade by his superior officers; and we all know 
that at times there was no lack of jealousy and intrigue among those 
high in rank. From first to last, Meade's loyalty to duty was ac- 
knowledged ; and his character, pure, and unsullied by any taint of 
selfishness, commanded to a remarkable degree the respect of all 
under whom he served. McCall, Reynolds, McDowell, McClellan, 
Pope, Burnside, Grant — all proved their confidence not only in his 
ability, but in his loyalty as well. General Grant, in his Memoirs, 
which truth compels me to say, do great injustice to General Meade, 
says of him: "He was subordinate to his superiors in rank to the 
extent that he could execute an order which changed his own plans 
with the same zeal he would have displayed if the plan had been his 
own." In this respect he was the type of the perfect soldier. 

Comrades, we have thus briefly considered General Meade as a 
bri-^ade, division and corps commander. We shall find in him, as 
commander of the army, the same characteristics, ever ready, always 
faithful, showing still higher ability in the larger field. It would 
not be necessary, even if I had the time, to enter before you into 
any detailed account of Gettysburg, the greatest battle of the war, 
fought and won by General Meade and his brave army a few days 
after he assumed its command. Controversy has raged around the 
events of those three eventful days in July, 1863, but amidst it all 



7 

General Meade's services shine out with ever-increasing kistre, and I 
feel an abiding confidence that his fame is safe in the hands of the 
soldiers of the army he loved so well. By no other general and by 
no other army was such a service rendered during the war as was 
rendered by Meade and his gallant army on that great and decisive 
day. 

In the eloquent language of the late Charles Gibbons : 

" When a hostile army, veterans in war and fluslied with victory, led by one of 
the most accomplished soldiers of the age, was marching upon Philadelphia we 
trembled, and New York trembled too, for the fall of one would have been the 
fall of both. Then Meade was invested with absolute power. He stood between 
us and the coming storm that was moving swiftly toward us, and his sword was 
the truncheon of supreme command. His brave army, gathered from every loyal 
State, looked to him with calm confidence to direct its valor, preserve its honor 
and maintain its cause. What if he should fail ! Was there a place of refuge ? 
New York in rebellion, a saturnalia of plunder, of crime, of blood ; a reign of 
terror, a broken Union, a land of anarchy, and the end of liberty ! Never in the 
history of the world did such a responsibility rest upon the soul of one man. And 
he did not fail. There was a fearful and deadly struggle for three long summer 
days, and then in the thick cloud of gloom that shrouded our hopes the bow was 
set, the earnest of our hopes and the covenant of approaching peace. And mer- 
chandise, and jewels, and money, and life, and honor, and a nation were saved, 
and the invader returned no more. It is a cold and flinty and ungrateful heart 
that would not lay a tribute of unmeasured praise upon the grave of such a man." 

After the battle of Gettysburg General Meade was aggressive in 
his movements. Following as rapidly as the condition of his army 
would permit, he drove Lee to the Rapidan, and from there he sent 
me to Washington with a despatch to General Halleck, asking per- 
mission to continue the movement against Lee, changing his base of 
supplies to Acquia Creek. Halleck refused, and ordered him to 
send two corps to Chattanooga, and to take up a defensive position 
on the Rapidan. While in this position, in October, 1863, the so- 
called "campaign of manoeuvres" took place, in which Meade's abil- 
ity as a tactician was again proven. After the war Lee acknowledged 
to Meade that his scheme had been frustrated by the latter in this op- 
eration — that he had been completely out-manoeuvred. In the fol- 
lowing November General Meade made an admirably planned move- 
ment — known as the Mine Run Campaign -7- which was thwarted 



by events for which he was not responsible. The concentration of 
his troops did not take place as ordered and the distinguished and 
gallant officer in command of the assaulting column, General War- 
ren, reported against the possibility of a successful attack. General 
Meade satisfied himself by personal inspection that success was 
hopeless and gave orders to suspend the movement, although he 
knew the growing impatience throughout the country for the Army 
of the Potomac to do something. General Humphreys says of this: 
" It was persistently urged on General Meade to attack, because the 
public would he dissatisfied if he did not and would not believe 
that he ought not to have attacked unless he did attack and was 
bloodily repulsed." 

I well remember that on the evening of the Mine Run failure 
General Meade said to me : " My head is off. I know that I shall 
be relieved, but I could not order an assault against my con- 
science." And soon after he wrote as follows to a friend: " I am, 
and have been, most anxious to effect something, but am deter- 
mined, at every hazard, not to attempt anything unless my judg- 
ment indicates a probability of accomplishing some object commen- 
surate with the destruction of life necessarily involved. I would 
rather a thousand times be relieved, charged with tardiness or in- 
competency, than have my conscience burdened with a wanton 
slaughter, uselessly, of brave men or with having jeopardized the 
great cause by doing what I thought wrong. ' ' Noble words, worthy 
of him who a few months before had saved the nation at Gettys- 
burg. To quote again from Mr. Gibbons : 

" Heroism is not an uncommon virtue. There are others more rare and no less 
essential in forming the character of a great soldier. All American soldiers 
North and South, have proved themselves heroes, but we can not expect to find 
in everyone a Thomas, a Washington or a Meade. Such men are not common in 
any country. They seem to be set for special occasions and as examples. They 
do not thrust themselves into notice. They do not come swaggering into the 
history of the times. They are not vain-glorious nor envious. They ' bear their 
faculties ' meekly, and are guided by a better cynosure than their own personal 
renown." 

In the spring of 1864 General Grant, having been appointed to 
the command of all the armies, concluded to make his headquarters 



with the Army of the Potomac, which still remained under General 
Meade's immediate command. General Humphreys says of this ar- 
rangement : "The position of General Meade was a delicate one, 
owing to the near presence of the officer superior in rank and com- 
mand. He acquitted himself in it in such a manner as to command 
the respect and esteem of General Grant." 

A soldier less brave, less loyal, less patriotic than General Meade 
might well have shrunk from a position of vast responsibility, of 
peculiar difficulty and in which he would win laurels more for an- 
other than for himself; but General Meade knew no law but duty, 
and in the long bloody campaign that followed his ability was un- 
questioned and his zeal never wavered, winning from General Grant, 
after the Wilderness and Spotsylvania battles. May 13, 1864, the re- 
commendation for promotion to be a major-general in the regular 
army, that, if it had been granted by the Government, would have 
placed him above General Sherman. I mention this fact in justice 
to the Army of the Potomac as well as to General Meade, for it 
shows how impressed General Grant was at that time with the task 
of that army, as well as with the ability of its commander. The 
country and the army owe General Meade a debt of gratitude for his 
services in the campaign far beyond anything they have ever realized. 

But I must pass by all the stirring events that crowd upon my 
memory, and will pause for a few moments to contemplate General 
Meade in the closing scene of the war. General Meade, with the 
Second and Sixth Corps, had followed Lee closely, and on April 7, 
1865, General Grant sent his first letter to General Lee, asking for 
his surrender, through the lines of the Second Corps. All the sub- 
sequent correspondence between General Grant and General Lee 
took place through General Humphreys' lines, except General 
Grant's last letter, which was sent by him through General Ord's 
and General Sheridan's lines; for on the morning of the 9th Gen- 
eral Grant had left the Army of the Potomac and had ridden to the 
southwest to join the commander of his left wing, thus delaying the 
surrender several hours. The world knows of the scene at Appom- 
attox Court House. In the language of Colonel Carswell McClellan, 
a recent historian : 



lO 



" There is another scene connected with that day to which but httle heed has 
yet been given. It will find proper place in history. Near three miles northeast 
of Appomattox Court House stands New Hope Church. Covering the forks of the 
road just south and west of this church General Longstreet, with almost all that is 
left of the Army of Northern Virginia, stands at bay in line of battle. With the 
letters sent to him for transmission to General Lee, General Humphreys had been 
notified that this correspondence was in no way to interfere with his operations. 
About half-past ten the Second Corps, with the Sixth following closely, began to 
overtake the rear of General Longstreet's troops. General Humphreys then re- 
ceived two urgent verbal requests from General Lee, by a staff officer bearing a 
flag of truce, that he would not continue to press forward, but halt and await the 
issue of pending negotiations for surrender. Under the instructions he had re- 
ceived he did not feel authorized to comply with these requests ; and, having so 
informed General Lee, he continued his advance. So urgent was General Lee's 
staff officer in making his last request that General Humphreys was obliged to 
send him word twice that compliance was impossible, and that he must retire from 
the position he occupied on the road not one hundred yards distant from the head 
of the Second Corps column. At eleven o'clock the Second Corps came up with 
General Longstreet's intrenched position. Dispositions were at once made for 
attack — the Sixth Corps forming on the right of the Second. But at the moment 
the assault was about to be made General Meade arrived upon the ground. There 
they stood face to face for the last effort of the war. Comrades through fiery years 
confronted foemen grim with scars and staunch in war-worn honors. Who can 
doubt the trial of that hour to General Meade ? Victory was beckoning for his 
grasp, and dearly the soldier loves his laurels. No new order even was necessary ; 
his matchless lieutenant was ready ; he had but to keep silent, and before the Com- 
mander-in-Chief could have answered General Lee the prize must have been won. 
It would have cost life and limb, of course, but what of that ? Look back over 
the gory road from the Rapidan ! A few more graves — a few more darkened 
homes and broken forms — but what could they count beside the honor won ? But 
General Meade had read the answer of General Lee before he forwarded it to 
General Grant — he knew the end would come, and the truce was granted, the 
long carnage ended — and Generals Meade, Humphreys and Wright, with their 
veterans formed around them, waited further orders from the Lieutenant-General." 

In closing I shall not attempt an elaborate eulogy of General 
Meade. He needs no such eulogy. His fame rests on the more 
solid basis of his noble character and great deeds. Time, which 
often dims the reputation of great heroes, can only add to his. He 
left nothing in his career to be forgotten, no weakness to be con- 
cealed, no frailty to be covered up, no fault to be condoned. I am 
confident that the verdict of impartial history will do him justice. 



II 



He will be remembered with admiration, not only for his military 
achievements, which, unsurpassed by those of any other man, will 
ever live in the grateful recollection of his countrymen, but also for 
the purity of his character, for his unselfishness, for his freedom 
from the jealousies and envies so common among distinguished sol- 
diers, for his patient and uncomplaining endurance of injustice, for 
his courage, which was of that high order that dared to do right at 
the risk of his own reputation, for his modesty, that made him ever 
ready to praise others, while during his whole career he never spoke 
or wrote one boastful word of himself, and for his supreme devotion 
to duty. As long as these virtues are held in esteem among us, and 
we rejoice over the blessing of a reunited country, just so long 
will we honor the name and memory of General George Gordon 
Meade, the great and victorious soldier, the loyal and public-spirited 
citizen and patriot, the generous, chivalrous, honorable Christian 
gentleman. 



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